PHILADELPHIA - So-called barrier sites -- the skin, gut, lung – limit the inner body’s exposure to allergens, pollutants, viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Understanding how the immune system works in these external surfaces has implications for understanding such inflammatory diseases as asthma, psoriasis, IBD, and food allergies, all of which occur at the body’s barriers.

PHILADELPHIA – A simple test performed at the sideline of sporting events can accurately detect concussions in athletes, according to study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Current sideline tests can leave a wide amount a brain function untested following concussion. Penn researchers showed that this method adds to current methods and accurately and reliably identified athletes with head trauma. The study appears online now in Neurology.

The launch of the International Genomics of Alzheimer’s Project (IGAP) – a collaboration formed to discover and map the genes that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease – was announced Feb. 1 by a multi-national group of researchers. The collaborative effort, spanning universities from both Europe and the United States, will combine the knowledge, staff and resources of four consortia that conduct research on Alzheimer’s disease genetics.